A 16/17-27
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 7 June 2017 at 11:00 am
I. Tabling of Papers
| Subsidiary Legislation / Instrument | L.N. No. |
|---|---|
| Travel Agents (Fee Concessions) Regulation 2017 | 106/2017 |
Other Papers
| 1. | Report No. 19/16-17 of the House Committee on Consideration of Subsidiary Legislation and Other Instruments |
| (to be presented by Hon Starry LEE, Chairman of the House Committee)
| |
| 2. | Report of the Bills Committee on Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2017 |
| (to be presented by Hon Kenneth LEUNG, Chairman of the Bills Committee)
| |
II. Questions
1. Hon YIU Si-wing to ask: (Translation)
The concept of sharing economy is to create economic value by sharing or leasing idle resources owned by individuals. In recent years, sharing economy platforms have been in the ascendant around the world, and the resources shared include residential units or rooms, vehicles, parking spaces, etc. The leasing of such resources is generally subject to regulation of local legislation, including the requirement that the operators concerned must obtain relevant licences. For instance, a person who operates in Hong Kong premises for short-term leases to provide sleeping accommodation with a tenancy term of less than 28 days shall obtain a licence under the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance, and such premises are also subject to strict regulation in the areas of fire safety installations, building structure, etc. Some members of the hotel industry have relayed that some people operate, through sharing economy platforms, unlicensed guesthouses which have posed unfair competition to them, and visitors staying in unlicensed guesthouses are not afforded protection. Regarding the regulation of sharing economy platforms involving illegal commercial activities, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the authorities have a grasp of the sharing economy platforms involving illegal commercial activities that are currently in operation in Hong Kong; if so, of the commercial activities involved, and the law enforcement efforts made by the authorities against such illegal commercial activities; if not, the reasons for that; (2) whether the authorities have studied the experience of overseas countries or regions in regulating sharing economy platforms, including the legislation enacted for this purpose; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether the authorities will adopt measures to regulate sharing economy platforms involving illegal commercial activities so as to protect the rights and interests of lawful operators and the interests of consumers; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
2. Dr Hon CHIANG Lai-wan to ask: (Translation)
The territory-wide rodent infestation rate ("RIR") for last year was 4%, or a rise of one percentage point from the preceding year, with Sham Shui Po District and Mongkok District (which yielded RIRs of 8.9% and 8.4% respectively) being the districts most seriously plagued by rodent infestation. Despite the launch of a two-month anti-rodent campaign at small targeted areas in all districts across the territory by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department ("FEHD") on 8 May this year, several residents of Kowloon West have still complained to me recently about rodent infestation in the district. Regarding rodent prevention and control, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it will review the effectiveness of the anti-rodent campaign being carried out by FEHD at small targeted areas, and adjust the territory-wide rodent prevention and control strategies; if so, of the details, including ways to step up anti-rodent efforts; whether it will launch the Keep Clean campaign regularly every year; if not, of the reasons for that; (2) given that currently feral cats caught in the community by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department ("AFCD") will be euthanized if such cats are unclaimed or not adopted, whether the authorities will consider allowing tenants of dry goods and grocery stalls in public markets with serious rodent infestation to adopt the cats caught by AFCD which have been vaccinated and sterilized, so as to help eradicate rodent infestation; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; whether the authorities will make reference to the following practice in countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States: supporting community groups or animal welfare groups to deploy, in districts with serious rodent infestation, feral cats caught to form community cat rodent control squads to help address rodent infestation; and (3) as some members of the public have relayed that the hygiene conditions are poor and rodent infestation is serious at the back alleys and nearby streets of some subsidized housing estates and private buildings, whether the authorities will further step up their inspection and cleaning operations at such places, and whether they will expand the powers and functions of District Councils and provide more resources to them, with a view to improving district environmental hygiene; if not, of the reasons for that?
3. Hon Mrs Regina IP to ask: (Translation)
At present, the practitioners of 26 healthcare professions are eligible to be registered as voters in the Health Services Subsector of the Election Committee. Given that 16 of those professions have not yet been included in any statutory registration system, the services provided by the practitioners of such professions (e.g. clinical psychologists, speech therapists and dietitians) lack adequate regulation, resulting in their service quality varying greatly and the public health not safeguarded. On the other hand, among the healthcare professions which have been included in a statutory registration system and are subject to regulation, the authorities have established boards for only five of them in accordance with the Supplementary Medical Professions Ordinance ("SMPO"). Some practitioners of those five professions have pointed out that all members of their boards are to be appointed by the Government and the incumbent chairmen are medical practitioners or dentists rather than practitioners of the respective professions. Such arrangements have resulted in a situation of professional autonomy lacking and are ineffective in promoting the development of their professions. Regarding the regulation and development of various healthcare professions, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it will set up a statutory registration system for those healthcare professions which have not yet been included in any of such systems, to ensure that their practitioners provide services of professional standards, thereby safeguarding the public health; (2) whether it will, by making reference to the composition of the Medical Council of Hong Kong, amend section 5 of SMPO to stipulate that half of the members of the board of each supplementary medical profession are to be elected by practitioners of that profession and the chairman is to be elected from among such board members who are practitioners of the profession, so as to achieve professional autonomy; and (3) whether the Government will introduce an "Open Access" mechanism, which allows patients who need to receive healthcare services such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy and clinical psychological treatment to choose to get the services either upon referrals by medical practitioners or by approaching the professionals concerned directly, and under which practitioners of the various healthcare professions may refer patients to each other, so as to establish a healthcare system with greater flexibility?
4. Hon LAM Cheuk-ting to ask: (Translation)
Last month, the Independent Commission Against Corruption arrested 21 staff members of a contractor of the Civil Engineering and Development Department ("CEDD"), who were suspected of corruption and having submitted fraudulent concrete compression test reports to CEDD. The contractor concerned is responsible for conducting concrete compression tests and soil density tests under the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge ("HZMB") Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities and Hong Kong Link Road projects as well as Tuen Mun-Chek Lap Kok Link project. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has grasped information on the parts of HZMB involved in test reports suspected to be fraudulent, and whether the structural safety of HZMB has been affected; given that the authorities have mainly performed visual inspections and non-destructive testing on the strength of concrete structure (commonly known as "Schmidt hammer test") to examine the stress-critical locations of the structures constructed under the aforesaid projects during the period relevant to such test reports, why the authorities do not perform structural tests by core drilling; whether any instance of concrete strength not meeting the design requirements has been identified so far; (2) given that CEDD officers had uncovered, in as early as July last year, that the test times contained in some of the test reports submitted by the contractor concerned might have been tampered, why CEDD still awarded another consultancy contract to that contractor in March this year; and (3) whether it has assessed if the project consultant commissioned to monitor the overall implementation of the HZMB project must be held responsible for the occurrence of the incident of submission by the contractor of test reports suspected to be fraudulent; whether measures are in place to strengthen the monitoring of public works quality so as to prevent occurrence of similar incidents?
| Public Officers to reply | : | Secretary for Transport and Housing
Secretary for Development |
5. Hon WONG Ting-kwong to ask: (Translation)
Since 2013, the Government has adopted a number of measures to ensure a safe and stable supply of powdered formula for infants and young children under the age of 36 months ("powdered formula"). Such measures include the requirement enforced since March 2013 that each person aged 16 or above may only carry, on his/her departure from Hong Kong within a 24-hour period, powdered formula of a total net weight of no more than 1.8 kilograms (commonly known as "restriction on powdered formula"), in order to prevent parallel trading activities from diverting large quantities of powdered formula away from the supply chain in Hong Kong. Regarding the enforcement of the restriction on powdered formula and the supply of and demand for powdered formula, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers of persons prosecuted and convicted each year since March 2013 for violating the restriction on powdered formula and, among them, the number of those involved in parallel trading activities; the penalties generally imposed on the convicted persons; (2) of the demand for powdered formula in each of the past three years calculated on the basis of factors such as the number of infants and the breastfeeding rate; how such figures compared with the volumes of retained import of powdered formula in the respective years; and (3) whether it knows the districts in Hong Kong where the problem of shortage of powdered formula occasionally emerges at present; when the authorities will conduct a comprehensive review of the demand for and supply of powdered formula?
6. Hon Nathan LAW to ask: (Translation)
On the 17th of last month, the Planning Department ("PlanD") indicated that it had, under the Central Clearing House mechanism, reviewed and confirmed the long-term uses of the sites of 183 vacant school premises ("VSP"). On the other hand, the Government Property Agency ("GPA") is responsible for the management of government properties and ensuring that "Government, Institution and Community" ("G/IC") sites are fully utilized, and the Lands Department ("LandsD") may allocate government sites to various government departments for temporary uses. Regarding the statistical information on government properties and sites, will the Government inform this Council of:
(1) the criteria adopted by PlanD for determining the long-term uses of the aforesaid VSP sites; whether the authorities will, among the VSP sites confirmed to be used for G/IC purposes, allocate one of such sites to The Boys' Brigade, Hong Kong, which was unsuccessful in its application for the use of a VSP in June last year, for use as its head office and change the uses of the remaining 182 sites to the use for developing public housing under the principle of "putting public lands to public uses", in order to alleviate the problem of public housing shortage; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) the number of vacant government properties currently managed by GPA and their total gross floor area, the total area of the sites where such properties are located, and the respective differences in the actual and permitted maximum plot ratios of such sites, broken down separately by District Council district and original use; and (3) the number of the sites which LandsD has currently allocated to various government departments for temporary uses and their total area, and the respective numbers and total areas of the sites which have to be surrendered to LandsD within the coming three years, five years and 10 years, broken down separately by District Council district and current use?
*7. Hon Tommy CHEUNG to ask: (Translation)
As there has been no import of live chickens from the Mainland to Hong Kong since 17 February 2016, all the live chickens currently available for sale locally are supplied by local farms. Also, it is learnt that the Mainland has stopped the export of live pigeons to Hong Kong a few months ago. Many members of the live poultry trade and the catering industry have indicated that the demand for live chickens is keen in Hong Kong, they therefore request the Government to actively strive for the resumption of import of live chickens and other live poultry from the Mainland to meet the market demand and drive down the selling prices of live chickens. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective (i) quantities, (ii) average wholesale prices and (iii) average retail prices of live chickens imported from the Mainland and supplied by local farms in each of the past three years; (2) whether the authorities have, since 17 February 2016, discussed the resumption of supply of live chickens to Hong Kong with relevant Mainland departments; if so, of the local and Mainland departments involved, the number of meetings held and the outcome; and (3) whether the authorities will take the issue of supplying live chickens and other live poultry to Hong Kong to a higher-level discussion mechanism between the two places; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*8. Hon Claudia MO to ask: (Translation)
The fresh water of Hong Kong mainly comes from Dongjiang water and rainfall from local catchments, which respectively account for 70% to 80% and 20% to 30% of Hong Kong's fresh water supply. Regarding the management of water resources, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the cost per cubic metre for processing Dongjiang water in each of the past five years; (2) given that in February this year, the Government commenced the negotiation with the Guangdong authorities in respect of the agreement on the supply of Dongjiang water to Hong Kong in the coming three years, of the procedure and latest progress of the negotiation; (3) of the number of reservoirs which overflowed in the past five years, and the overall quantity of overflow from reservoirs last year; (4) of the causes for the incidents of pipe leakage, and the percentage of the quantity of fresh water so leaked in the annual total water consumption, in each of the past three years; (5) given that the Water Supplies Department ("WSD") and the Drainage Services Department have, since 2004, made plans to implement the Inter-reservoirs Transfer Scheme to channel the overflow from the Kowloon Group of Reservoirs to Lower Shing Mun Reservoir and to convert such overflow into potable water resources, but the Government reportedly deferred the implementation of the Scheme due to the implementation of a number of infrastructure projects in the past, whether the Government will accord priority to the implementation of the Scheme; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (6) as WSD plans to progressively establish a "Water Intelligent Network" to enable continuous monitoring of the conditions of the water supply networks in the territory, of the latest progress, work schedule and completion date of the project; and (7) as WSD is developing a smartphone application named Smart Metering System, of the relevant details and progress?
*9. Hon LEUNG Che-cheung to ask: (Translation)
Some members of the public have relayed to me that a number of public payphone kiosks have been built along certain walkways with high pedestrian flows, but several public payphones ("payphones") in them are unserviceable as they have remained unrepaired since they broke down. On the other hand, given that as at February this year, the mobile subscriber penetration rate was as high as 232%, occasions on which members of the public need to use such payphones are fewer than those in the past. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the current number of payphones across the territory (with a breakdown by District Council district); (2) whether it knows the number of calls made in each of the past three years through payphones (with a breakdown by whether the telephone numbers dialled were local, Mainland or overseas numbers); (3) whether the authorities have formulated planning guidelines specifying the number and locations of payphones to be installed, and whether they have required local fixed network operators ("FNOs") to repair, within a specified time limit, their payphones which have broken down; (4) given that the FNO with the universal service obligation ("USO") is entitled to recover the net cost for meeting its USO by collecting universal service contribution ("USC") from other service operators, of the amount of USC payable, in accordance with the level set by the authorities, in each of the past three years for the provision of uneconomic payphones; and (5) whether the authorities will assess afresh the need of the public or tourists to use payphones; in respect of the situation in which a number of payphone kiosks have been built along some walkways with high pedestrian flows, whether the authorities will discuss with the FNOs concerned the removal of those payphones with low usage, so as to improve the pedestrian environment; if they will not, of the reasons for that?
*10. Hon CHAN Kin-por to ask: (Translation)
The Chief Executive has said on several occasions that, under the "Belt and Road" Initiative, Hong Kong can perform the role of "super connector" between the Mainland and countries along the "Belt and Road". However, according to the Reports on Annual Survey of Companies in Hong Kong Representing Parent Companies Located Outside Hong Kong published by the Census and Statistics Department, the numbers of regional headquarters ("RHQs") and regional offices ("ROs") established in Hong Kong by companies located outside Hong Kong ("non-Hong Kong companies") have shown a downward trend in recent years, with the former decreasing by 22 from 1 401 in 2015 to 1 379 in last year, and the latter decreasing by 11% from 2 644 in 2007 to 2 352 in last year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the reasons why non-Hong Kong companies had removed their RHQs and ROs from Hong Kong; if it does not know, of the reasons for that; (2) of the measures and support in place to attract non-Hong Kong companies to invest and establish operations in Hong Kong; if no such measures and support are in place, of the reasons for that; and (3) whether it will consider providing financial incentives (e.g. tax concessions) to attract non-Hong Kong companies to establish RHQs and ROs in Hong Kong, with a view to promoting economic development and creating more employment opportunities for local talents?
*11. Hon KWOK Wai-keung to ask: (Translation)
Will the Government provide the following statistics for 2004, 2010 and 2016:
(1) for various industries and occupations in each of the aforesaid years, the respective (i) numbers of employed persons, (ii) Nominal Wage Indices, (iii) Real Wage Indices, (iv) Nominal Indices of Payroll per Person Engaged, and (v) Real Indices of Payroll per Person Engaged (adopting the first quarter of 2004 as the base period, i.e. first quarter of 2004=100), broken down by gender; and (2) in each of the aforesaid years, the respective (i) Nominal Gross Domestic Product ("GDP"), (ii) Real GDP, and (iii) growth rates of such figures (adopting the first quarter of 2004 as the base period, i.e. first quarter of 2004=100)?
*12. Hon SHIU Ka-chun to ask: (Translation)
According to the Land Resumption and Compensation in the Urban Area - Guidelines for Owners, Occupiers and Surveyors ("LD Guidelines") issued by the Lands Department, in addition to statutory compensation, owner-occupiers affected by the Government's land resumption exercises may also receive the Home Purchase Allowance ("HPA"). The amount of HPA payable to individual owners is the difference between the value of a notional replacement flat (based on a seven-year-old flat of a size similar to the resumed flat and in the same locality) and the open market value of the resumed flat. On the other hand, the Urban Renewal Authority ("URA") adopts a similar principle in offering HPA to owner-occupiers affected by its redevelopment projects and has drawn up valuation guidelines with reference to the LD Guidelines. According to the valuation guidelines, URA engages surveyors to collect and analyze information on property transactions in the same locality as the redevelopment project, in order to work out the price per square foot for the notional seven-year-old replacement flat (commonly known as "the price per square foot for a seven-year-old flat"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the following information about each of the redevelopment projects undertaken by URA in the past 10 years (to be set out in a table): (i) the name of the project, (ii) the announcement date, (iii) the number of residential flats involved, (iv) the number of residential flats occupied by owners, (v) the names of the surveying companies providing valuation services, (vi) the valuation date for the price per square foot for a seven-year-old flat, (vii) the highest and lowest prices per square foot for a seven-year-old flat offered to the owners concerned, (viii) the names and numbers of flats of the housing estates in the same locality adopted for comparison in the valuation reports concerned, (ix) the date on which acquisition offers were made to the owners concerned, (x) the deadline for the owners concerned to accept the acquisition offers, and (xi) the percentage of owners who accepted the initial acquisition offer in the total number of the owners concerned; (2) of the date on which the LD Guidelines were amended by the Government each time and details of the amendment(s), since the age of a notional replacement flat was adjusted downward from 10 years to seven years in March 2001; (3) whether it knows if URA has, each time after the LD Guidelines were amended, forthwith amended its valuation guidelines accordingly; if so, of the dates and details of each amendment; and (4) whether it will request URA to make public its valuation guidelines so as to enhance the transparency of the compensation arrangements for redevelopment projects; if not, of the reasons for that?
*13. Hon Andrew WAN to ask: (Translation)
At present, quite a number of non-skilled workers are employed by outsourced service contractors ("contractors") to provide cleaning and security services to government departments ("outsourced workers"). It has been reported that last month an aged outsourced cleaner fell sick at work allegedly due to overexertion and was sent to hospital by colleagues for treatment. The incident has aroused public concern whether outsourced workers' labour rights and interests are adequately protected. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the authorities have followed up the latest health condition of the worker following the aforesaid incident; whether they have investigated if the arrangements made by the contractor concerned in respect of the working hours, workload and working environment of outsourced workers are appropriate, and whether the contractor has contravened the employment contract, outsourced service contract or any labour legislation; (2) as it has been reported that the said worker's workload was unreasonably high, whether the authorities will investigate if the workload to manpower ratio of the relevant outsourced services is reasonable; whether they will set the ratio as one of the items for evaluation of the tendering mechanism for outsourced services; (3) as it has been reported that some contractors have stealthily slashed the number of workers employed in order to save cost, whether the authorities have investigated if contractors are employing an adequate number of workers in accordance with the outsourced service contracts; if they have, of the details, including whether relevant Mandatory Provident Fund contribution records have been checked and whether surprise inspections or decoy operations have been conducted; if not, the reasons for that; (4) whether it knows the percentage of outsourced workers who have not signed continuous contracts of employment with the contractors; whether the authorities will specify in the outsourced service contracts that contractors must sign continuous contracts of employment with their outsourced workers, so as to protect the labour rights and interests of workers; (5) whether it has set requirements on the (i) lower limits for the rest time and resting space given to outsourced workers (especially cleaners) by the contractors and (ii) upper limits for the workload and working hours arranged for such workers by the contractors; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that and whether it will set the relevant requirements; and (6) whether government departments which outsource their services at present have mechanisms and measures in place to enable outsourced workers to lodge complaints against contractors who have allegedly contravened the Employment Ordinance (Cap. 57) or employment contracts; if so, of the number of such complaints received by the authorities in the past five years, with a breakdown by content of complaint; whether a contractor bidding for new outsourced service contracts will be allotted penalty points for the reason that complaints against him have been found substantiated?
*14. Hon James TO to ask: (Translation)
Over the years, some cross-boundary syndicates have been arranging Mainlanders to enter into bogus marriages with Hong Kong residents, so that the Mainlanders concerned may apply for Permits for Proceeding to Hong Kong and Macao (commonly known as "One-way Permits" ("OWPs")) for coming to Hong Kong for settlement. The Immigration Department ("ImmD") set up a special task force in 2006 to combat the related crimes. From 2008 to 2015, ImmD investigated into 5 890 suspected cases of bogus marriage and arrested 8 655 persons, 1 550 persons of which were convicted. During the same period, the terms of imprisonment imposed on persons convicted for bogus marriage varied from 4 to 24 months while the head of a syndicate was sentenced to imprisonment for four years. However, such terms of imprisonment were much shorter than the maximum imprisonment term of 14 years as stipulated in the legislation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers of Hong Kong residents who were prosecuted and convicted for committing bogus marriage-related crimes last year, with a breakdown by their gender and the age group to which they belonged; among the convicted persons, of the number of intermediaries and the penalties generally imposed on them; (2) given that from 2008 to 2015, the number of persons who were prosecuted and convicted for committing bogus marriage-related crimes accounted for only about one-sixth of the number of persons arrested, whether the authorities have reviewed (i) if such ratio is relatively low (if so, of the reasons for that), (ii) the effectiveness of the work of investigating bogus marriages, and (iii) the difficulties encountered in instituting prosecutions and gathering evidence; if they have reviewed, of the outcome; (3) in order to further combat bogus marriage-related crimes, whether the authorities will (i) allocate additional resources to ImmD so that its personnel may scrutinize cross-boundary marriage registrations more stringently, and (ii) enhance intelligence exchanges with Mainland authorities and other countries; (4) whether the authorities have plans to discuss with Mainland authorities on issues relating to the vetting of and approval for OWPs, and propose that ImmD participate in or even take up the full responsibility for the vetting and approval work for OWPs, with a view to curbing bogus marriage-related crimes more effectively; (5) whether the authorities have studied if the penalties imposed on the aforesaid convicted persons have sufficient deterrent effect; if they have studied and the outcome is in the negative, whether the authorities will lodge appeals against certain selected cases for the purpose of seeking the promulgation of a sentencing guideline by the Court of Appeal to set out severer sentencing yardstick; and (6) whether the authorities have reviewed the effectiveness of the existing publicity work on the seriousness of committing bogus marriage-related crimes; apart from the publicity channels such as holding press conferences, issuing press releases and receiving media interviews, whether the authorities will employ other new means (e.g. social networks) to launch publicity work?
*15. Hon WU Chi-wai to ask: (Translation)
In the past few years, the Government has launched several public housing development projects (including the development of the Anderson Road Quarry site, the public rental housing development at Anderson Road) in Kowloon East, and has rezoned certain sites (including the sites at Wang Chiu Road of Kowloon Bay, Lam Tin and Yau Tong) within the district for housing development one after another. Some Kowloon East residents have pointed out that with the population in the Tseung Kwan O district continuously growing in recent years, the capacity of the roads in Kowloon East has now reached saturation. Besides, the major roads (including Kwun Tong Road, Clear Water Bay Road, Lung Cheung Road, Prince Edward Road East) in the district cannot be expanded due to insufficient space. Such residents are worried that the additional vehicular flows to be generated by the aforesaid development projects will paralyse traffic in the district. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the (i) average vehicle speed, (ii) average traffic throughput, and (iii) annual growth rate of traffic throughput of the following five road sections during peak hours in the past five years: the section of Kwun Tong Road near Kwun Tong Town Centre, the section of Kwun Tong Road connecting Wai Yip Street of Kowloon Bay, the section of Kwun Tong Road connecting Lung Cheung Road, Clear Water Bay Road near Choi Hung Interchange, as well as Clear Water Bay Road bound for Lung Cheung Road and the roundabout at Kwun Tong Town Centre; the respective percentages of the current traffic throughput at these road sections in their design capacities (set out such information in a table); (2) of the short-term and medium-term measures in place to (i) alleviate the traffic congestion in the road sections mentioned in (1), and (ii) divert the additional vehicular flows to be generated by the new development projects; and (3) whether it has assessed the cumulative impact of the development projects launched since 2010 and those to be launched within the next few years on the traffic situation of Kowloon East, in particular the road sections mentioned in (1); if so, of the details?
*16. Hon Charles Peter MOK to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the provision of services by the Government through electronic means ("e-Government services"), and the implementation of digital government transformation, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has calculated the respective current average unit costs of delivery by the Government through four channels, namely face-to-face over the counter, telephone, mail and the Internet, the following four types of services: dissemination of information, bill payments or transactions, handling of applications and registrations, and handling of complaints; if so, set out the relevant figures in a table; whether it has estimated the frequencies and trends of members of the public in using government services through the aforesaid channels in the coming decade; if so, of the outcome; (2) in respect of each of the four types of services mentioned in (1), of the respective 20 government services that are currently most frequently and least frequently delivered through electronic means, as well as the respective frequencies and percentages of such services delivered last year through electronic means; (3) whether it will require various government departments to conduct user experience researches in respect of the government services that they deliver through electronic means, in order to have an understanding of users' needs for making improvements to such services; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (4) of those government services on handling of applications and bill payments which are currently not yet delivered through electronic means, and the reasons for that; whether the Government will require the departments concerned to expeditiously add this additional means for service delivery; (5) in respect of those electronic bill payment services with low utilization rates, whether the Government has plans to require the departments concerned to redesign the payment workflows and to develop simpler and more user-friendly electronic payment service interfaces; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (6) as a report has pointed out that the Internet data volume of mobile smartphones and tablets exceeded that of desktop computers for the first time in October last year, and given that the mobile versions of websites provided by quite a number of government departments are currently available in text-only versions only, while many of such mobile versions do not support Internet Protocol version 6 ("IPv6"), whether the Government has plans to (i) require the various departments to redesign the mobile versions of their websites on the basis of IPv6, and (ii) update the standards of the Common Look and Feel for government websites, so that the looks and functions of the websites of government departments may stay abreast of latest developments; (7) given that there has been a lapse of more than five years since the Guidelines on Dissemination of Information through Government Websites ("the Guidelines") were last revised in March 2012, whether the Government has plans to update the Guidelines; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (8) whether it has plans to draw up afresh the standards and principles for e-Government services, and incorporate requirements such as the adoption of the agile delivery approach, ongoing user researches, frequent reviews and enhancements, taking safety and privacy issues into account, opening up source codes and adopting open standards as far as possible, collecting performance data, so as to ensure that such services can stay abreast of latest developments and meet the needs of members of the public; and (9) whether it has studied the implementation of digital government transformation, including redesigning the entire processes and organizational structures for delivery of services by various government departments, so as to enhance efficiency and improve the experience of members of the public in using such services; if so, of the details, including the estimated savings in expenditure and increase in service efficiency?
*17. Hon Paul TSE to ask: (Translation)
Traffic congestion in Kwun Tong District is a long-standing problem, which has caused complaints from local residents being heard everywhere in the district and discussions on the subject by the Kwun Tong District Council year after year. Quite a number of District Council members have envisaged that upon the respective completion of the Kwun Tong Town Centre redevelopment project and the Anderson Road public housing development project, the competition between pedestrians and vehicles for road space will be exacerbated. On the other hand, the Government has proposed to make Kowloon East a pilot smart city, and the Energizing Kowloon East Office ("EKEO"), which is tasked to promote the transformation of Kowloon East into a core business district, has implemented a number of projects to improve the pedestrian and traffic networks in Kowloon East. However, quite a number of members of the public have pointed out that the effectiveness of a number of such projects is not satisfactory. For example, "Back Alley Project @ Kowloon East", for which $700,000 was spent to invite artists to paint graffiti to beautify the exterior walls at 36 back alleys in the district so as to divert pedestrians to such back alleys, has poor outcome. Those back alleys have been ridiculed as "ugly alleys" and the project is queried for wasting public money. In addition, the download figure of MyKE, a smartphone application using information and communications technology to integrate the information in Kowloon East, is on the low side (only 2 200 times as at last month). Also, MyKE comprises "Smart Parking Mobile App" function to provide information on vacant parking spaces in the car parks within the district (including real-time number of vacant parking spaces), but only 20% of the car parks in the district provide such information to MyKE. Furthermore, only one of the traffic lights in the district is a smart traffic light, which can reduce pedestrians' waiting time for crossing the roads. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as there are views that the 54 minor works projects (including the Back Alley Project @ Kowloon East) taken forward by EKEO in Kowloon East at a cost of $6 million have failed to divert pedestrian flows from the main streets and are not conducive to improving road congestion, whether the authorities have reviewed the effectiveness of such works projects; if so, of the details; (2) of the development cost and recurring expenses of the MyKE application ; (3) given that MyKE had a mere download figure of 2 200 as at last month, whether the authorities have conducted a review to find out the causes for that; (4) as some members of the public have pointed out that since the Smart Parking Mobile App function often takes more than one day to update the number of vacant parking spaces, coupled with the fact that only 20% of the car parks in the district provide parking information to MyKE, the function is not conducive to reducing the drivers' time in looking for vacant parking spaces and relieving traffic congestion, whether the authorities have monitored the operation of the function and examined why the function cannot provide real-time information on vacant parking spaces; whether new measures are in place to encourage more car park operators to provide parking information to MyKE; if so, of the details; of the expected time for the Smart Parking Mobile App function to cover all car parks in the district; (5) of the total number of traffic lights in Kowloon East at present; the reasons why the authorities have installed only one smart traffic light in the district so far; whether the authorities have plans to replace all traffic lights in the district with smart traffic lights; if so, of the implementation timetable; and (6) whether the authorities have made reference to (i) the proposed alignment of the Mongkok footbridge system (i.e. constructing a footbridge at the Argyle Street section, connecting it with the Tong Mi Road footbridge along Argyle Street and extending it to Hak Po Street), and (ii) the footbridge across Queensway to be constructed by the developer concerned at nil land premium to connect Pacific Place and Harcourt Garden, and considered constructing a footbridge system in Kowloon East connecting busy road sections, such as Hoi Yuen Road, Kwun Tong Road and Shing Yip Street, so as to relieve the pedestrian flows on the ground, thereby directly diverting the pedestrian flows from the Kwun Tong MTR Station to Hoi Bun Road and Kwun Tong waterfront averting the need of at-grade roads, so as to share pedestrian flows and ease the competition between pedestrians and vehicles for road space; if so, of the details; if not, whether the authorities will conduct such a study immediately?
*18. Hon CHAN Hak-kan to ask: (Translation)
According to the Hong Kong Poverty Situation Report on Disability 2013, the poverty rate of persons with disabilities ("PWDs") in Hong Kong before policy intervention in 2013 was 45.3%, which was far higher than the 19.9% of the overall population in the same period. One of the main reasons for PWDs being in poverty is that they have low income due to employment difficulties. On the other hand, under the Minimum Wage Ordinance (Cap. 608), employees with disabilities may choose to undergo the productivity assessment ("the assessment") to determine whether they should be remunerated at a wage no less than that calculated on the basis of the statutory minimum wage ("SMW") rate or a wage commensurate with their productivity. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of PWDs who have undergone the assessment since the SMW regime came into operation in May 2011, with a breakdown by their degree of productivity as assessed; (2) whether it knows the current number of serving employees with disabilities who have undergone the assessment; among these employees, the number of those whose wage is lower than SMW; (3) whether it has calculated the amount of public money that the Government needs to spend each year for providing subsidies to employees with disabilities whose wage is lower than SMW in order to make up for the shortfall; whether it will consider afresh providing such subsidies; (4) of the respective numbers of PWDs currently employed by the Government and public bodies, and the respective percentages of such numbers in the total numbers of employees of the organizations concerned; (5) given that at present, quite a number of countries (e.g. Germany, France and Japan) require that a certain proportion of the employees of private organizations must be PWDs, and those in contravention are liable to substantial fines, whether the Government will consider adopting such practice; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (6) of the respective (i) details of and (ii) amounts of estimated expenditure for the current financial year on the various measures adopted by the Government currently to help PWDs get out of poverty?
*19. Hon Kenneth LAU to ask: (Translation)
In 2015, among the 71 river monitoring stations set up by the Environmental Protection Department ("EPD") across the territory, the average levels of Escherichia coli ("E. coli") recorded at 63 stations exceeded the relevant statutory water quality objectives. As pointed out by EPD, the possible causes for such situation include: the unsatisfactory septic-tank-and-soakaway systems installed for some houses in unsewered villages, and direct connection, by some village house owners, of their houses' sewers to stormwater drains. Quite a number of villagers have relayed to me that there are at present a number of unsewered villages and that some villagers are unable to connect their houses' sewers to public sewers due to financial and/or technical difficulties. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has assessed the impacts of the aforesaid exceedance of E. coli level in rivers on public health in the past three years; (2) of the respective current numbers of villages in respect of which works on connecting public sewers (i) have been completed, (ii) are being carried out, and (iii) are planned to be carried out within the coming three years, and set out one by one the names and locations of these villages and the numbers of houses therein; (3) in respect of each of the villages which have been connected to public sewers, of the current percentage of households that have not connected their houses' sewers to the public sewers; and (4) whether it has examined the provision of loans or subsidies to villagers with financial difficulties and the provision of more support to villagers who have encountered technical difficulties, so as to help such villagers connect their houses' sewers to the public sewers?
*20. Hon Holden CHOW to ask: (Translation)
The Shatin to Central Link ("SCL") project, the implementation of which was entrusted by the Government to the MTR Corporation Limited ("MTRCL"), is underway. The project has experienced delays and is likely to incur cost overruns. It has been reported that the estimated amounts of the cost overruns will be as high as $20 billion, causing the total project cost to rise from the original $79.8 billion to almost $100 billion, which is even higher than the project cost of the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link. Moreover, a number of other major infrastructure projects in recent years have also experienced serious cost overruns and delays, and the amounts of the cost overruns for individual projects have continuously increased from a few billion dollars in the past to $20 billion in the present case. Some members of the public query the ability of the Hong Kong Government and MTRCL to control the expenditures and progress of the projects. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether, in view of the current situation of the SCL project experiencing cost overruns and delays, the authorities have conducted, in collaboration with MTRCL, a review to see if there are areas for improvement in the internal systems currently deployed by the company for auditing project expenditures and monitoring project progress; if such a review has been conducted, of the outcome and the ways in which improvement will be made; if such a review has not been conducted, whether the review will be conducted; if so, when it is expected to commence and complete; (2) whether the authorities have studied if the cost overruns and delays experienced by a number of major infrastructure projects in recent years involve blunders of the Government in its budgeting, policy implementation, etc.; if they have studied, of the outcome; if they have not studied, whether the authorities will consider conducting such a study; and (3) whether the authorities will adopt new measures to prevent the projects under planning from experiencing cost overruns and delays in future; if so, of the details?
*21. Hon LEUNG Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)
The Government will implement the Free Quality Kindergarten Education Scheme starting from the 2017-2018 school year. In that school year, (i) the Government will provide a subsidy of $33,190, $43,150 and $53,100 per student per annum ("pspa") respectively for half-day ("HD"), whole-day ("WD") and long whole-day ("LWD") kindergartens ("KGs"); and (ii) the ceiling of school fees that HD KGs may collect from parents is set at $9,960 pspa (after deduction of government subsidies), and the relevant ceiling for WD and LWD KGs is $25,890 pspa. On the other hand, the Government will continue to implement the Kindergarten and Child Care Centre Fee Remission Scheme ("KCFRS") to provide fee remission for families which have passed the means test. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the authorities will consider lowering the aforesaid school fee ceilings to alleviate the financial burden on the parents of students; (2) of the respective numbers, as estimated by the authorities, of families eligible for 100% fee remission under KCFRS which will need to pay KG school fees for their children studying in HD, WD and LWD KGs in the 2017-2018 school year, and the average amounts of school fees payable by such families; and (3) whether the authorities will announce, as early as possible, the highest fee remission for the 2017-2018 school year under KCFRS?
*22. Dr Hon Elizabeth QUAT to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that WannaCry, a ransomware program targeting on computer systems which use old-version Microsoft Windows operating systems, has earlier caused havoc on a global scale, affecting the computer systems of the relevant organizations in at least 150 countries, including the Russian central bank and a number of hospitals in the United Kingdom. Some members of the information and technology sector are worried about whether the institutions in Hong Kong, including government departments and public organizations, are capable of coping with major computer security incidents. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has assessed if the various government departments and public organizations are capable of coping with major computer security incidents at present; if so, of the outcome; (2) of the number and percentage of the government departments currently holding the ISO 27001 certificates for information security management systems ("certificates"), which are jointly issued by the International Organization for Standardization and the International Electrotechnical Commission; among the government departments holding the certificates, of the number and percentage of those which have been granted a certificate for the second time upon the expiry of the three-year validity period of the original certificates; among such certificates, of the respective numbers of those which have been and have not been updated to the 2013 edition; (3) whether it has assessed if the internal information security management systems of those government departments currently holding the certificates are capable of coping with major computer security incidents; if so, of the outcome; (4) whether the Government Chief Information Officer ("GCIO") has assessed if there are inadequacies in the information security management systems of those government departments currently holding the certificates; if GCIO has assessed and the outcome is in the affirmative, of the ways to make improvement; whether the various government departments have introduced the security incident management platform system to strengthen information security; (5) of the measures in place to ensure that the financial institutions in Hong Kong are capable of coping with major computer security incidents; whether it knows if the various financial institutions have carried out regular drills in this regard; if regular drills have been carried out, of the details; and (6) whether it has formulated contingency measures (including technical support) to assist small and medium enterprises and members of the public in coping with computer security incidents; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
* For written reply
III. Government Bills
| First Reading
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| 1. | Stamp Duty (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2017
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| 2. | Medical Registration (Amendment) Bill 2017
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| Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned)
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| 1. | Stamp Duty (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2017 | : | Secretary for Transport and Housing
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| 2. | Medical Registration (Amendment) Bill 2017 | : | Secretary for Food and Health
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| Second Reading (Debate to resume), Committee Stage and Third Reading
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| Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2017 | : | Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
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| Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury to move
Committee stage amendments (The amendments were issued on 29 May 2017 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 615/16-17) | |||
| (Debate and voting arrangements for Committee stage of the Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2017 (issued on 6 June 2017 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 644/16-17(01)) (same as the Appendix to the Script of Council meeting of 7 June 2017))
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IV. Members' Motions
| 1. | Proposed resolution under section 34(4) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance
Hon CHAN Chun-ying to move the following motion: Resolved that in relation to the - | ||||
| (a) | Financial Institutions (Resolution) (Protected Arrangements) Regulation, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 76 of 2017; and
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| (b) | Financial Institutions (Resolution) Ordinance (Commencement) Notice 2017, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 77 of 2017,
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| and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 17 May 2017, the period for amending subsidiary legislation referred to in section 34(2) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (Cap. 1) be extended under section 34(4) of that Ordinance to the meeting of 5 July 2017.
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| 2. | Motion under Article 73(9) of the Basic Law
Jointly initiated by Hon Alvin YEUNG, Hon James TO, Hon LEUNG Yiu-chung, Prof Hon Joseph LEE, Hon LEUNG Kwok-hung, Hon Claudia MO, Hon WU Chi-wai, Hon Charles Peter MOK, Hon CHAN Chi-chuen, Hon Kenneth LEUNG, Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki, Hon Dennis KWOK, Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG, Dr Hon Helena WONG, Hon IP Kin-yuen, Hon Andrew WAN, Hon CHU Hoi-dick, Hon LAM Cheuk-ting, Hon SHIU Ka-chun, Dr Hon Pierre CHAN, Hon Tanya CHAN, Hon HUI Chi-fung, Dr Hon CHENG Chung-tai, Hon KWONG Chun-yu, Hon Jeremy TAM, Hon Nathan LAW, Dr Hon YIU Chung-yim and Dr Hon LAU Siu-lai (28 Members) and to be moved by Hon Alvin YEUNG Wording of the motion is in Appendix I. | ||||
| (The motion was also issued on 29 May 2017
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 611/16-17) | |||||
| Public Officer to attend : Chief Secretary for Administration
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| 3. | Motion under Rule 49B(1A) of the Rules of Procedure
Hon Claudia MO to move the motion in Appendix II. | ||||
| (The motion was also issued on 29 May 2017
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 610/16-17) | |||||
| 4. | Not forgetting the 4 June incident
Dr Hon Helena WONG to move the following motion: (Translation) That this Council urges that: the 4 June incident be not forgotten and the 1989 pro-democracy movement be vindicated. | ||||
| 5. | Combating bid-rigging to defend the rights and interests of property owners
Hon LAM Cheuk-ting to move the following motion: (Translation) That in recent years building maintenance works in Hong Kong have been monopolized by bid-rigging syndicates involving triad members, and such syndicates manipulate tendering process by unlawful means, including significantly inflating maintenance costs to make huge profits, thus causing property owners to suffer losses of tens of billions of dollars, and arousing widespread grievances among members of the public; in order to combat the illegal activities of bid-rigging, this Council urges the Government to: | ||||
| (1) | expeditiously plug the relevant loopholes under the Building Management Ordinance to safeguard the rights and interests of property owners;
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| (2) | step up law enforcement to deter bid-rigging syndicates;
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| (3) | enhance public promotion and education to enable members of the public to understand the perils of bid-rigging and take precautions;
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| (4) | provide property owners with professional support to enable them to comprehensively grasp the correct information on building maintenance works; and
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| (5) | set up a 'building maintenance works authority' to centrally monitor the conduct of the industry and quality of maintenance.
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| Amendments to the motion | |||||
| (i) | Hon LAU Kwok-fan to move the following amendment: (Translation)
To add "bid-rigging seriously undermines the fairness and impartiality of the tendering process of building maintenance works, and also causes the price of the successful bid in maintenance works to far exceed the reasonable market rate, thus greatly increasing the maintenance expenses of property owners while the quality of maintenance works cannot be safeguarded;" after "That"; to add "the situation of bid-rigging in" after "recent years"; to delete "have been monopolized by bid-rigging syndicates involving triad members, and such syndicates" after "Hong Kong" and substitute with "has become increasingly rampant, and some bid-rigging syndicates even collude with owners' corporations, property management companies and triad members to"; to add "serious" after "suffer"; to delete "of tens of billions of dollars, and arousing widespread grievances among members of the public" after "losses"; to add "by requiring the election of consultants appointed for large-scale maintenance works be decided by a resolution at a general meeting of the owners' corporation, so as" after "Building Management Ordinance"; to add "ensure that law enforcement agencies have adequate resources to investigate bid-rigging activities and" after "(2)"; to add "provide more building management training programmes and seminars on the prevention of bid-rigging, so as to enhance the knowledge of owners' corporations, property management companies and property owners on the relevant subject and their understanding of the Building Management Ordinance, and at the same time" after "(3)"; to add "and establish a 'database on building maintenance' " after "support"; to delete "and" after "maintenance works;"; and to add "; (6) step up the promotion of the Smart Tender scheme, and extend its scope of services to cover the entire maintenance works, including monitoring the progress and acceptance of the works, so as to safeguard the quality of maintenance works; (7) increase the staff establishment of District Offices for building management work and enhance the functions of Liaison Officers, so that they can follow up the work relating to building maintenance works in a dedicated manner; and (8) set up a 'building affairs tribunal' to resolve existing problems of lengthy time and expensive legal costs required for handling disputes concerning building maintenance works" immediately before the full stop. | ||||
| (ii) | Hon Alvin YEUNG to move the following amendment: (Translation)
To delete "in recent years building maintenance works in Hong Kong have been monopolized by bid-rigging syndicates involving triad members, and such syndicates manipulate tendering process by unlawful means, including" after "That" and substitute with "since the implementation of the Mandatory Building Inspection Scheme by the Government, the number of building maintenance works has increased rapidly but the tendering process of such works has often been manipulated by lawbreakers by means of bid-rigging, these lawbreakers have even"; to delete "inflating" after "significantly" and substitute with "inflated the"; to delete "plug the relevant loopholes under" after "expeditiously" and substitute with "amend"; to add "plug the relevant loopholes, especially the provision of the Ordinance on the instrument appointing a proxy, so as to better" after "Building Management Ordinance to"; to delete "and" after "maintenance works;"; to add "a statutory body such as" after "set up"; and to add ", its work includes formulating standards of practice and industry guidelines to ensure fair competition and setting up a licensing system; (6) impose cooling-off periods for the tendering and appointment procedures of large-scale maintenance works, so as to enable property owners to review the relevant decisions; and (7) increase the manpower and resources of the Lands Tribunal to expedite the handling of legal disputes arising from building maintenance works" immediately before the full stop. | ||||
| (iii) | Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG to move the following amendment: (Translation)
To delete "in recent years" after "That" and substitute with "according to information,"; to add ", and at the same time empower the Home Affairs Department to monitor building maintenance works initiated by owners' corporations and residents' organizations and institute relevant prosecutions" after "interests of property owners"; to delete "and" after "maintenance works;"; and to add "; (6) expeditiously implement the proposal in the 2017-2018 Budget to allow property owners to participate in the 'Smart Tender' Building Rehabilitation Facilitating Services Scheme run by the Urban Renewal Authority at a concessionary rate, so as to enable them to appoint independent building professional to provide cost estimate for building maintenance works, and recruit contractors through an electronic tendering platform, thus minimizing the risks of bid-rigging; and (7) impose cooling-off periods for the appointment procedure of large-scale maintenance works, so as to enable property owners to review the relevant decisions" immediately before the full stop. | ||||
| (iv) | Hon KWOK Wai-keung to move the following amendment: (Translation)
To delete "in recent years" after "That" and substitute with "as projected by the Government, the ageing of buildings in Hong Kong will become increasingly serious, and coupled with the implementation of the Mandatory Building Inspection Scheme by the Government in 2012, more and more buildings have to carry out large-scale maintenance and renovation works; however quite a number of"; to delete "Hong Kong have been monopolized by bid-rigging syndicates involving triad members, and such syndicates" after "maintenance works in" and substitute with "recent years have experienced suspected bid-rigging activities, some works companies have even collaborated with crime syndicates to"; to add "hefty" after "suffer"; to delete "of tens of billions of dollars" after "losses"; to add "by the Police Force, the Independent Commission Against Corruption and the Competition Commission; expedite the prosecution of bid-rigging cases by increasing manpower dedicated to investigating building maintenance works cases, so as" after "law enforcement"; to delete "to enable members of the public" after "education" and substitute with ", and at the same time allocate additional resources to relevant organizations such as the Competition Commission and the Independent Commission Against Corruption for them to brief property owners and owners' corporations before commencement of building maintenance works, so as to enable the persons concerned"; to add "establish a one-stop maintenance information platform and database to" after "(4)"; to add "and owners' corporations" after "provide property owners"; to delete "correct" after "grasp the"; to delete "; and" after "information on building maintenance works" and substitute with ", including the market costs of various maintenance works, the records of building maintenance works undertaken by qualified contractors, and the assessments made by property owners and owners' corporations on the performance of their appointed contractors;"; and to add "; and (6) set up a tribunal dedicated to handling building affairs to resolve disputes relating to building maintenance" immediately before the full stop. | ||||
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